A PASSENGER told how he cheated death when he was thrown through the sunroof of a skidding car as it smashed into a lamp post in Bury.

Andrew Hunt (27) believes undoing his seatbelt just seconds before the impact saved his life.

As reported in last Friday's (March 2) Bury Times, Mr Hunt was in a Ford Sierra which went out of control in Bolton Street, Bury, and headed straight for a lamp post.

He was catapulted through the car's glass sunroof, flew through the air and cracked his head as he landed on the road.

But, miraculously, he escaped with only minor head injuries, while the lamp post splintered through the passenger side of the car and came to rest on the seat.

Mr Hunt, of Duncombe Road, Great Lever, said that his whole life flashed before him in the seconds leading up to the accident. The father-of-two, who is due to marry fiancee Julie-Ann next year, said that he saw the faces of his two-year-old son, James, and four-month-old daughter, Keeley, as the car skidded out of control. He added: "I got a series of flashbacks and was completely dazed. Apparently 15 cars stopped to see how I was. I'm sure many of them thought I was dead.

"But it obviously wasn't my time. All I remember is seeing a lamp post, taking my seatbelt off and moving towards the driver. Within seconds, I felt a bang and smashed my head on the sunroof which really hurt. Then I saw some paintwork which must have been the roof as I flew through the air."

Mr Hunt was released from Bury General Hospital after treatment.

The accident happened when a Ford Sierra driven by car salesman Stephen Wickham spun out of control on Bolton Street, close to its junction with Millett Street, Bury.

The car flipped on to its roof before coming to rest in the central reservation.

Mr Wickham, 29, from Dale Bank Road, Little Lever, injured both knees in the accident. He was also taken to hospital for treatment but was not detained.

Mr Hunt added: "Two women called Mel and Lisa and a man helped me and I want to thank them. I don't know the man's name but he was on the phone straight away. It just shows that there are decent people out there.

"I couldn't see at the time. My right eye was blurred and the left side of my face was cut. There were bits of glass in my left eye.

"But it's unbelievable that I emerged relatively unscathed. When I look at the car now, it's frightening."